Swindon Mecca Bingo Hall Closes its Doors - 04-15-08

April 15 - A historic bingo hall, that has become an intricate part of community culture and entertainment, has been closed down in central Swindon. The Mecca bingo hall gave its playing public one one week's notice that their favorite gaming location was being shut and a sad farewell celebration was held over the weekend.

The bingo hall was located in an area earmarked for regeneration, within an historic 1929 building that held a renovated cinema.

A Swindon councilor said: "We would be quite happy for the bingo hall to continue on the site, and this decision has come entirely from Mecca Bingo. We have given no indication to Mecca to leave. The site was identified as a strategic site for regeneration and it is council policy to take ownership of those sites as soon as possible. It is likely that it will form part of the cultural quarter. At the moment there are no plans to do anything with the site in the immediate future."

Meanwhile, it was announced that talks may be held this week between council members and Mecca managers about plans to keep the Regents Circle location open. While Mecca has not indicated that it is interested in going along this path, council members are optimistic that plans that they have drawn up to convince Mecca to stay and serve the local bingo fans will have the intended effect. "We've got no time scale. We're drawing up the plans for what we'd like to see here. But we do want to make the most of it until we know what's happening. We're going to look into it and if there is potential to keep them there we'd be delighted to do so," said a councilor.

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